Stephanie and Mike

Hello, we’re Stephanie & Mike!

We’d like to share a little bit about our lives and why we’re hoping to adopt…again.

We knew early on in our relationship that we were unable to have biological kids. Shortly after meeting our new niece nearly 5 years ago, we started to talk more seriously about what we wanted our family to look like down the road. After careful thought and consideration, we began pursuing adoption a couple years into our marriage.

Toward the end of 2020, we met our daughter, whom we adopted with the help of ACI. We were excited AND nervous about the monumental task of parenting that lay ahead of us. As it turned out, our daughter was diagnosed with a rare medical condition a couple months after birth. This meant multiple medical interventions and hospitalizations until she received her life-saving organ transplant–all within her first year of life!

Becoming parents and learning how best to advocate for our daughter has been profoundly humbling and rewarding. We have seen each other grow in ways that we didn’t know were possible, and developed an even stronger partnership as a result. Our daughter is now catching up on her developmental milestones with the help of Early Intervention services, and her health is stable.

Since we both grew up with a sibling, we feel that another child would make our family “more complete” – and we’re ready to pursue another adoption. We know that our daughter would be gentle, kind, and nurturing to a new sibling – she already makes a great human sister to our dog and cat! We envision a future with fun daily adventures, memorable family vacations, and quality time spent together during holidays. We hope to maintain an open relationship with any future adopted child’s parent(s), though we will be respectful of their wishes and boundaries.

A few things about Mike (by Stephanie)

• Rational, patient, trustworthy
• Loves to laugh and rough-house with our daughter
• Excited to help our kid(s) with their science, math, and history homework
• Will be a great role model for our kid(s) to develop curiosity and a love of learning

A few things about Stephanie (by Mike)

• Compassionate, driven, nurturing
• A pro at making sure our daughter has everything she needs, from clothes & toys to medications & appointments
• Excited to help our kid(s) with arts & other creative pursuits
• Will be a great role model for teaching our kid(s) empathy and emotional intelligence

We hope this letter gives you a peek into our world and the type of parents we are. Most importantly, we want to sign off by expressing our utmost respect for you and your decision-making process. Life takes unexpected turns for everyone, and how we handle them is deeply personal. We know that you may be researching many different options, and appreciate that you’re taking the time to learn about us. We hope that you ultimately find peace and fulfillment as you pursue the path that is right for you.

Sincerely,

Stephanie & Mike